Feds crackdown on 70 fake websites that “copy cat” real sites

Federal investigators Thursday announced a crackdown on 70 “copy cat” websites that sold counterfeit merchandize by making themselves “almost indistinguishable” from their authentic counterparts.

The fake sites purported to sell items such as official San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders jerseys, Louis Vuitton designer bags and upscale Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, according to an investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Fake

The copy cat sites even used photos of Secure Sockets Layer certificates — often seen as padlock logos — that are supposed to let customers know entering their credit card information is safe because the website is secure and verified.

Real

The copycat trend presents an “alarming” new problem because it shows the increasing sophistication of online counterfeiters, said John Morton, director of the department’s U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement unit.

“The fake sites and the real sites are almost indistinguishable,” Morton said. “And the fake sites aren’t offering obvious knockoffs. They are trying to masquerade as the real deal.”

The websites used addresses such as “louisvuittononlineoutletus.com,” “officialsanfrancisco49ers.com” and “originalbeatsbydre.com” that are designed to be close enough to the addresses of the true sites.

That’s not a new tactic, but what is new is that the copy cat sites didn’t have some of the more obvious flaws and other telltale signs that consumers can use as a tip off, such as misspelled names and words and prices that are abnormally below normal retail.

Instead, the fake sites were near mirror images of the legitimate sites and offered goods or services that were “close to or near the legitimate prices to completely dupe the consumer,” Morton said.

Sites that sold counterfeit Major League Baseball merchandise resembled the real ones so closely that a buyer would have to be familiar with a team’s current roster of players to know it wasn’t, he said.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit has been cracking down on counterfeit websites for three years under its “Operation In Our Sites” investigation, which has seized a total of 839 domain names used by counterfeiters.

“Project Copy Cat” was the next step in that investigation and began about four months ago, with federal undercover officers purchasing goods such as baby carriers, sports jerseys, language instruction and fitness DVDs and jewelry.

The goods were shipped to the U.S. from other countries. Morton said most of the fake sites were linked to China.

The department placed banners on the 70 sites that say the domain name has been seized. But Morton said no arrests have been made.

Morton said online shoppers are going to have to become even more vigilant to avoid buying counterfeit goods, paying for but not receiving merchandise and having their computers infected with malware.

“They have to take a little more time to make sure they’re shopping at a legitimate site because they are running the risk of getting ripped off,” he said.